I just got back from a 3 week vacation over winter break. I hired a pet-sitter to make sure that my little babies would be alright, since I couldn't very well take them on the plane with me. I paid $200, and came home to shredded fish tonight.

My only male looks emaciated, his head is by far the thickest part of him now. All of my sorority girls had terribly nipped fins and were pale grey. Worst of all, it looks like my beloved Sir Crispin von FishyFins has been through a fight with a lawn mower. He has always been a bit of a fin-nipper. But, all of his fins are just...a mess. There's almost nothing there but rays and tattered, thin I don't even know.

It took me 30 minutes to feed them tonight, since many were so weak they had trouble reaching the surface. I'm so upset about this.

i would be sobbing if i came home to that! and you payed her a good amount of money too! fish don't take that long to take care of, it's not like a dog where you have to worry about them eating the house, gah, i wish there was a way you could demand some of your money back - if dogs were treated the way she treated your fish i'd report your pet sitter to the police or something for animal abuse, this is horrible! and now i'm ranting! i hope your guys recover soon! lots of hugs and love sent your way!

I wouldn't necessarily blame the pet-sitter. A lot of times bettas start tail-biting (themselves or others) when they're stressed. I've seen several people on this forum post that their fish started tailbiting when they (got a new job, went on vacation, went into the hospital, etc.). I'm sure the sitter feels terrible about it, but there may have been nothing he/she could have done to prevent it. The good news is the fish are alive, so you have something to work with.

Never know...your fish might be like my El Dorado. you HAVE to pay attention to him x.x or he tail bites. if there was someone just coming in, feeding, leaving... maybe your bettas didn't like the lack of interaction?

I wouldn't necessarily blame the pet-sitter. A lot of times bettas start tail-biting (themselves or others) when they're stressed. I've seen several people on this forum post that their fish started tailbiting when they (got a new job, went on vacation, went into the hospital, etc.). I'm sure the sitter feels terrible about it, but there may have been nothing he/she could have done to prevent it. The good news is the fish are alive, so you have something to work with.

However, there is no reason for her to find her fish emaciated. Tailbiting is one thing, but simply not feeding them is another. The tailbiting could have been a result of not being fed, and the sorority girls got so stressed by no food (With my girls, if you dont feed them, they get nippy to each other) that they went after each other.

However, there is no reason for her to find her fish emaciated. Tailbiting is one thing, but simply not feeding them is another. The tailbiting could have been a result of not being fed, and the sorority girls got so stressed by no food (With my girls, if you dont feed them, they get nippy to each other) that they went after each other.

EDIT: OP, can you ask the sitter what went wrong?

I don't even know if she'd understand. I asked for updates every time she went, and said they were all looking good. I hired her because a friend recommended her. But, she clearly didn't know what she was doing if she didn't adjust their feeding to keep them the proper weight.